Facebook has spent a lot of time recently talking about anything but Facebook. Instead, the company has spent billions buying technology and developing new apps separate from the Facebook service.... read more
Featured Slideshow
Science
Science
Linux powers CERN -- organization deploys Red Hat technologies
Submitted by l33tdawg on Wed, 2014-04-16 07:04
My knowledge of atomic science and particle physics could fit in a thimble. However, as a result of various news reports over the years, I am aware of the Large Hadron Collider and the work being done at CERN with it -- exciting stuff.
Genetic risk of Alzheimer's has gender bias
Submitted by l33tdawg on Tue, 2014-04-15 04:47
Carrying a copy of the "Alzheimer's gene" doesn't significantly raise a man's risk of developing the disease.
The gene does increase a woman's risk, but women with one copy of the gene were as likely to develop the disease as men with no copies. The study – along with work suggesting that the gene is associated with educational achievement in young people – highlights how much remains to be done to untangle the genetics of Alzheimer's.
NIST launches an atomic clock 3 times more accurate than the last
Submitted by l33tdawg on Mon, 2014-04-07 04:22
Earlier this week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially launched an atomic clock that is three times as accurate as the one used today to do everything from synchronize GPS systems to time-stamp financial transactions.
The previous atomic clock, called NIST-F1, was launched in 1999. It was accurate to within plus or minus one second over the course of 100 million years. The newly launched atomic clock, called NIST-F2, is accurate to within plus or minus one second over 300 million years.
Catching cancer: The riveting quest for a killer virus
Submitted by l33tdawg on Wed, 2014-04-02 00:22
FEW words have the power to induce terror: cancer is one, virus another. Imagine, then, the awful potency of something that merges the two.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a curiosity, as well as a killer. Around 95 per cent of us are infected with it, but it rarely has symptoms. When it does, the virus manifests in many guises. The childhood cancer of the blood Burkitt's lymphoma, glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis) and MS have all been associated with Epstein-Barr.
An ancient virus may be the reason human stem cells can transform
Submitted by l33tdawg on Mon, 2014-03-31 00:32
A virus that invaded the genomes of humanity's ancestors millions of years ago now plays a critical role in the embryonic stem cells from which all cells in the human body derive, new research shows.
The discovery sheds light on the role viruses play in human evolution and could help scientists better understand how to use stem cells in advanced therapies or even how to convert normal cells into stem cells.